Human Trafficking in the Indian State of Uttarakhand on Rise

Human Trafficking in the Indian State of Uttarakhand on Rise:

UKPP Held Candle March on March 7, 2016

Dehradun, Uttarakhand, March 7, 2016: UKPP or the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party, the only Green party in India, organised a Candle March in the city of Dehradun on the eve of the International Women’s Day to draw public-attention towards the Harish Rawat-led Congress Government’s apathy with regard to the increasing incidents of human trafficking and women’s exploitation in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand (UK) in India.

The Candle March on March 7, 2016 in Dehradun, UK was led by Anita Nautiyal, who is Convener of the UKPP Women’s Organisation and APGF Councillor on behalf of the APGF Women’s Network. UKPP Vice-President Suresh Nautiyal and several others from UKPP and other organisations also participated in the Candle March.

This is to be reminded that the Salt area in the district of Almora in the state of Uttarakhand has witnessed several women missing from their houses. It is suspected that the women have either been abducted for nefarious purposes or trafficked for sex-slavery/prostitution. More than a dozen women have been reported missing over a short period of time.

Apart from these incidents, there have been reports of the distressed women being sexually exploited by the influential people in collusion with the management of a Home for the Distressed Women in Dehradun.

The UKPP President, PC Tewari, has expressed concern over the incidents of human trafficking in the state and has called upon the state government to bring in a sense of law and order in the state and ensure security of the women in particular.

It is to be noted that over the years the movement of the unknown people have increased in the tranquil Himalayan State and the law and order situation has worsened due to such movements.

The Uttarakhand Parivartan Party (UKPP) has also written to the District Magistrate of Almora to look into the matter and investigate the whole thing so that such incidents did not take place any more.

UKPP has suggested forming police teams to find out the missing women. Also, the party has called upon the state government to ensure safety of the mountain women in particular as they have to travel several miles every day to fetch water, fodder for the cattle and fuel-wood from the forest areas. The Uttarakhand state is a region where the women are the backbone of the local economy. The mountain women were the ones who played a key role in the creation of the Uttarakhand state in the year 2000.

The UKPP is talking with several like-minded organisations to chalk out a strategy for ensuring socio-economic security and creating a larger political space for the women of the state.

03/07/2016 – 07:00